Image is Everything
A gifted scientist and pioneer, Ng Kwan Hoong is Asia’s first Marie Sklodowska-curie Award recipient
In the relatively new field of medical physics in Malaysia, few rivals can come close to University of Malaya’s Professor Ng Kwan Hoong. Ng turned heads in the international medical community in 2018 when he became the first scientist from a developing nation to receive the prestigious Marie SklodowskaCurie Award. Presented by the International Organisation For Medical Physics, the award honours scientists who have contributed significantly to the education of medical physicists and elevated the standards of research in their profession.
It’s a complex bit of news to internalise. But if you think Ng’s work doesn’t impact the average Malaysian, sit down for a chat with the man himself and you’ll walk away pondering ‘big picture’ issues that didn’t seem important before. And if there’s one thing that over 30 years of teaching have taught Ng, it’s the art of explaining complex concepts in simple, down-to-earth terms.
“Imagine a patient taking a mammogram, for instance. Firstly, you have to make sure you can see the affected area clearly to be able to diagnose if it is cancerous or not,” says Ng. “If you don’t diagnose properly, you could send a cancer patient away thinking that she doesn’t have cancer. On the other hand, if a patient doesn’t have cancer, but you report that she does, she’ll start worrying, having her breasts removed unnecessarily and all that. My job is to ensure that our medical imaging quality is of the highest possible standard so these things don’t happen.”
So dedicated is Ng to his field that he set up a master’s programme in medical physics at the University of Malaya 20 years ago, a programme that has since been accredited by the Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine. Interestingly, only a handful of universities in the world (all of them in the UK) have this prestigious accreditation. Radiation is another subject that Ng tackles on a regular, if not daily basis. Consulting often at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Ng spends a considerable bit of time correcting misconceptions about the effects of radiation used in X-rays.
“When radiation is used in a controlled manner, it brings many benefits,” says Ng, who also consults for the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. “The radiation dose required for the modern X-ray is very low. The videographers operating these machines know the exact ‘dosage’ of radiation needed to give us an accurate image with minimum radiation exposure to the patient.”
Providing health screenings for senior citizens and other members of society, Ng’s strong sense of social responsibility keeps him continually on his toes, on top of his duties at the Asean College of Medical Physics which he founded in 2014.
“What do I do on weekends? I go to church and edit students’ drafts,” Ng says with a grin. “It hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I’m not sure how I can keep up with everything. But it’s what I enjoy. Teaching is in my blood. I’ve found that I can speak to people of different levels and professions and have them understand me.
“Society unfortunately tends to think that you have to be a doctor or lawyer to contribute meaningfully. But they forget others like clerks or technicians who also contribute every day in their own ways.”